Ink-pad box.



` No. 7045,6lo'. Patented :my 29, |902. J, uuAmz, m. INK FAD BOX.

(Application filed Mar. 24,1902.)

(In Modell) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES QUARTZ, JR., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO F. S. WEBSTER COMPANY, OF.BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS; NEW YORK, N. Y.; CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND LONDON, ENGLAND, A CORPORA- TION OF MAINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 705,610, dated July 29, 1902.

Application iiled March 24,1902. Serial No. 99,602. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES QUARTZ, J r., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Ink- Pad Boxes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts. y

This invention has for its object theproduction of simple and effective means for preventing the collapsing or partial telescoping of the lid upon a box when shut, and it has more particular relation to the sheetmetal boxes Which are made to contain inkpads for use with hand-stamps or similar devices. Such boxes are commonly Vmade of thin sheet metal, rectangular in shape,and

comprising a body or box proper in which the ink-pad is'suitably secured and a lid hinged thereto, the lid` being itself a shallow box in order that When shut the inner surface of itsV top shall not rest upon the pad.` VVarious means have been devised to provide some effective form of stop which willV electively and positively limit the closing movement of the lid, so that when the boxes are transported through the mails or otherwise the lid cannot be slightly distorted or sprung and collapsed upon the box, with consequent smearing of ink upon the lid and frequently splitting or breakage thereof. All of such stopping devices, so far as known to me, will not prevent the collapsing referred to if pressure is applied to the lid-as, for instance,;when` stamping the mailing-mark in the postofficeand as a result the box when delivered` is dirty, smeared with ink pressed out of the pad, the latter is frequently injured, and an.

unsightly object is presented to the purchaser instead of a neat and clean receptacle for theink-pad. In my present invention I have by a simple device absolutely prevented such occurrences, and I obviate collapsing by any pressure likely to be experienced by the box in transportation. i

Figure .1 is a perspective view of an ink-pad box embodying one form of my invention, the lid being raised. Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereofl with the lid shut. Fig. 3 is a View similar toFig. 1, illustrating another embodiment of my invention; and Fig. 4 is a 4transverse section thereof with the lid shut.

Inasmuch as box and lid (shown in Figs. l and` 3)\are constructed in like manner a brief description will apply to both, the box consistingof two rectangular and substanltially like members A and B, preferablymade of thin sheet metal and each being a shallow box. The `member A, which is the lid, is shown as hinged at one edge at ax to the corresponding edge of the member B, the box proper, and preferably the upper edge of the latter `isbent over around a wire bx to forman external lip or head which constitutes a stop. When the lid is shut, Figs. 2 and 4, the free or unhinged edge of the lid rests upon this stop, and unless pressure is applied to the top of the lid the lid and box will properly register. If, however, such pressure is applied, the lid will become distorted or sprung and one corner thereof usually will slip down ofthestop and upon the box, so that the receptacle as a whole collapses more or less completely. The provision of a head or stop upon the lid as well as the box proper will not prevent such collapsing, 'as the sheet metal is suiiciently springy or flexible to permit it. An ink-pad l?` isA shown in the box, and usually the pad is held in place therein by being forced into place `or glued, and when collapsing occurs the ink is smeared upon the inside of the "cover Vand sometimes the pad itself isinjured.

tween the bottom of the box and the inside of the top of the lid when the latter is shut. When the box is to be transported, this support is inserted in the clearance between the pad and the wall h' ot the box, and when the lid is shut the upper edge of the support bears against the top of the lid and prevents it from further closing movement. Any pressure upon the lid is resisted by the support, which is at right angles to its top, and collapsing cannot take place. Vhen the padbox is in use, the support can be withdrawn and may be retained to scrape the top ot' the pad from time to time to clean it when necessary. In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown the support as a strip cx, permanently secured, as by solder, to the inside ot the front wall d of the lid, and when the latter is shut the projecting portion of the support 0X enters the clearance between the pad and the wall h' of the box and rests upon the bottom of the latter. In this structure the opening of the box withdraws the support from the clearancespace and out of the way of the user of the pad. Whichever form of support is employed, it will be seen that it is temporarily inserted between the bottom of the box and the top of the lid when the latter is shut and prevents collapsing of the lid upon the box, as described, the support serving to limit the closing movement of the lid independently of the stop h. I prefer to use the latter, however,

as it gives a neat inish to and strengthens the box and is useful as a stop when no collapsing pressure is exerted upon the lid.

My invention is not restricted to the precise construction shown and described, as the same may be modified in various particulars Without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

l. A rectangular box having an' external stop at its upper edge, a correspondinglyshaped sheet-metal lid hinged to the box and adapted to rest at its free edge upon the stop when the lid is shut, an ink-pad secured in the box and leaving a clearance between its front side and the adjacent wall of the box, and a support temporarily inserted in the clearance between the top of the lid and the bottom of the box when the lid is shut, to limit closing movement of the lid and prevent collapsing thereof upon the box or pad.

2. A rectangular box having an external stop at its upper edge, a correspondinglyshaped sheet-metal lid hinged to the box and adapted to rest at its free edge upon the stop .when the lid is shut, an ink-pad secured in the box and leaving a clearance between its front side and the adjacent wall of the box, and a longitudinal support equal in depth to the distance between the bottom of the box and the top of the lid when shut, said support entering the clearance and limiting the closing movement of the lid independently of the stop on the box or pad.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES QUARTZ, J R.

Witnesses:

ALFRED F. MURPHY, ARTHUR H. BnDwoRTH. 

